Reciprocal Recording Studio – Seattle, Washington - Atlas Obscura

Reciprocal Recording Studio

Providing the soundtrack to the golden years of the Seattle grunge scene. 

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Some of the grunge era’s greatest tracks were recorded inside the studios of this unassuming triangular building, including the very first demo of an at the time still unknown Nirvana.

Reciprocal Recording Studio was only open from 1984 to 1991 but managed to record a tremendous amount of material.  During the height of the grunge era, it was not uncommon for the studio to be booked 18 hours a day.  Soundgarden, Mudhoney, TAD and Green River all recorded at Reciprocal, and when Nirvana’s initial demo lead to their speedy signing at Sub Pop the band returned to record their very first album, Bleach.

Since Reciprocal’s closing, the space has been utilized by a string of other recording companies, recently as the temporary home of the Hall of Justice Recording Studio, run by Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie fame. It is currently occupied by an active recording studio so be polite and don’t go banging on the door. 

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